Ask The Biologist

Run for Cover

By Bob Humphrey

Try a masking scent if you’re concerned about getting busted.

QUESTION: What are your thoughts on masking scents like EverCalm if you hunt from a ground blind?

ANSWER: I think cover scents in general are a good idea, particularly when hunting in a ground blind, where your scent is at ground level. However, it’s important to use the right scent and use it properly. Vegetable scents, like pine and cedar are good, providing they mimic something that naturally occurs in the area you hunt. Mineral (earth) scents can be effective, although I find the odor a bit too strong.

And then there are animal scents. Strong ones like skunk and fox work, although you might not be welcome back at home or camp – and if they’re too strong they may put deer on alert. Mild ones, like EverCalm, are designed to put deer at ease by leading them to think another of their kind was recently in the neighborhood. I have used several, including EverCalm, and while I can’t aver with certainty, I believe they work.

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Bob Humphrey is the Biology & Deer Behavior field editor for Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine and holds similar titles with other major hunting publications. He currently lives in Maine with his wife and two children.Click here to email your questions to “Ask the Biologist.”